Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Allen Maldonado, American Carnage, Bella Ortiz, Diego Hallivis, Eric Dane, exclusive, interview, Jenna Ortega, Jorge Diaz, jorge lendeborg, Julio Hallivis, Saban Films

American Carnage: Diego & Julio Hallivis Break Down Horror Satire

Brothers Diego and Julio Hallivis offer a unique commentary combining current U.S. immigration policy and elder abuse in Saban Films' horror comedy American Carnage. The story follows a band of newly detained youth, victims of a governor's executive order that arrested children of undocumented immigrants, that are offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly. Director Deigo and co-writer Julio spoke to Bleeding Cool about the inspiration behind the film and balancing reality with horror and comedy.

BC: What's inspiration behind American Carnage?

Diego: The inspiration was a reaction to the political climate at the time seeing how politicians use Latinos as a way to manipulate the masses, then understanding that, it's not just one party, but both. Feeling caught between the two battles that's happening, we realized [asking ourselves] what's going to happen ten years in the future when we look back? Is there going to be something that we said, something that we did? We wanted to make a movie that was like a stamp of how we feel.

Julio: Also, we're immigrants, and seeing the separation of families and those events happen was horrifying. It was a true horror film. We wanted to express ourselves and give our take on what it is, but we wanted to do it in a fun way. We didn't want to be too preachy. We want to give a message but make it digestible for everyone in a way.

What made you decide to add elderly care and horror to the film's themes?

Diego: When you use genres like horror and comedy that we do throughout the film, it allows you to have like a layer of separation from reality and allows you to push the extreme in terms of scenarios. That opens up another opportunity for social commentary. When it comes to elderly care, you look around in the States, and there's rampant abuse in many nursing homes because of the way they're set up that the system becomes voiceless. It's not just about being Latino not [having] a voice. It's just it's the system that sets you up to not have a voice. So then you draw this parallel in nursing homes with the elderly that don't have a voice, and then together, they can find unity and fight the oppression together.

Can you break down the casting process and why everyone worked so well together?

Julio: We cast everyone. We didn't know exactly what to do [at the time] because we wanted to see who the characters are going to be. Our casting director just started giving us options and the cast that we ended up with was just amazing. Everyone killed it in their own way when it comes to their auditions. We definitely wanted to have a cast that represented all the different types of Latinos that we have with various backgrounds. Our casting director, Carla Hool, was great picking the right actors and we were very happy with the cast, for sure.

Diego: It was important for us for this ensemble cast to have different sensibilities in terms of like whether it's comedic timing, dramatic elements, or a different type of component. So we wanted to have as much different type of skill sets available to us in the ensemble so that each one has a different personality that stands out from each other.

How did you creatively work with each actor? Was it a more conventional shoot, or was there improvisation allowed?

Diego: In my previous films, I was very strict when it comes to the shots made and the dialog. In American Carnage, I completely changed. It was more about how do we get the best performance out of everyone. Each actor is going to have a different level of what they can bring to the table. Second, you start allowing for improvisation. We realized that quickly and started seeing things that were not planned, that were better than what we originally planned. So having those moments of improvisation where things come together in an even better way definitely elevated the material.

What would you say is the biggest challenge of making this film?

Julio: There were a lot of challenges from making this movie a reality [to] shooting it on a low budget to the time. There were a lot of limitations, but it's just picking the right team, and it goes to the cast and the crew. Everyone was always prepared. Everyone was always on top of everything. That's what made it happen. Make it a low-budget movie. It's very tough, and you have a lot of limitations. The more prepared you are and the more experienced people you have, it just makes everything easier. We had an amazing cast and amazing crew that made it possible.

Diego: It's always that battle of expectations of what you're envisioning versus reality and how to find the sweet spot between the two.

American Carnage, which stars Jenna Ortega, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., Allen Maldonado, Bella Ortiz, Jorge Diaz,, and Eric Dane, is currently available in theaters, on-demand, and digital.

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